’24’ Jumps the Shark, Right Out Of the Blocks

A Senate oversight hearing starting punctually at 8 a.m? Without lengthy opening statements by each of the committee members? Puhleese.

The much-anticipated new moral tone of this season is also immediately evident. In the opening minutes, we see a father driving in downtown Washington, D.C., brazenly breaking the law by talking on his cell phone. He suffers the consequences: a brutal kidnapping at the hands of masked gunmen.

UPDATE (9:30 p.m.): The Cochran Firm, founded by the late Johnnie Cochran, pays for expensive advertising time to encourage people to seek its advice on medical malpractice lawsuits. No doubt for the victims of Jack Bauer’s interrogations.